SloppyCalculator/SinFoS huggingface dataset:
Sinhala figure of speech: අඬන කොට ලු කිරි එරෙන්නේ
Type: විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The mother gets milk when the child cries for it
English equivalent: The squeaky wheel gets the grease
Meaning: That nothing will work out without effort.
Sinhala figure of speech: අඬුව තියෙද්දි අත පුච්ච ගත්තා / ගන්නවා වගේ
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: To get the hand burnt whilst having the pincers
Meaning: Doing someone a favor and then mocking them or begging (gnashing one's teeth) for something else in return, belittling the value of the favor.
Sinhala figure of speech: අත හයිය නම් බත නොවැරැදේ
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: If the hand is strong, the rice will not fail
Meaning: A person with the skills to work diligently will not lack sources of income.
Sinhala figure of speech: අත හොලවන්නේ නැතිව කට හොලවන්න බැහැ
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: You cannot expect to move the mouth without moving the hands
Meaning: One cannot obtain a living without working for it
Sinhala figure of speech: අතට අසු වූ මැටි පිඬක් වගේ
Type: [ආප්තෝපදේශ]
Literal translation: Like a lump of clay caught in the hand
Meaning: Can be shaped in any way you want.
Context: Talking about wife or children
Sinhala figure of speech: අතැඹුලක් සේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර] 
Literal translation: Like a Nelli fruit (Emblic myrobalan) on the hand
Meaning: be well versed
Sinhala figure of speech: අතිරහ වුනත් නිතර කන කොට එපා වෙනව ලු
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: even if it is Athirasa (a type of sweetmeat), it becomes unwanted when eating constantly
Meaning: No matter how good and delicious something is, it loses its value when it is received frequently.
Sinhala figure of speech: අතීසාරයට අමුඩ ගහනවා වගේ
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like wearing a crupper to cure dysentery
Meaning: Applying a small and meaningless solution to a very large problem without fully addressing it
Sinhala figure of speech: අතු කඩා මොර කන්නා වගේ
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like eating Mora fruit by breaking the branches
Meaning: Complete closure of income streams
Sinhala figure of speech: අතුර මැද දී අත්වැල / අත් කොළේ කැඩුනා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the breaking of the supporting rope one has gone halfway along the coupling 
Meaning: What was there to help could disappear at any time.
Sinhala figure of speech: අතේ ඉන්න කුරුල්ලා පඳුරේ ඉන්න කුරුල්ලාට වැඩිය හොඳයි
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Like letting off the bird in your clutch and trying to catch the one on the tree
English equivalent: A bird in the hand worth two in the bush
Meaning: Things we already have are more valuable than what we hope to get
Sinhala figure of speech: අතේ හකුරු ඇත්නම් කොයි ලිඳෙත් වතුර තිය ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: If you have jaggery in hand water may be had from any well
Meaning: Anyone will treat you well if you have money
Sinhala figure of speech: අත්තෙ අග ඉඳලා මුල කැපුවා වගේ
Type: [උපදේශ][කතා][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like cutting the base [of the branch] while staying at the tip of the branch
Meaning: Knowingly committing a foolish act and getting into trouble
Sinhala figure of speech: අත්තෙන් අත්තට පනින කුරුල්ලා තෙමී නසී 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The bird jumping from branch to branch perishes by getting wet
English equivalent: A rolling stone gathers no moss
Meaning: A person who is always changing jobs and places has the advantage of less responsibilities, but also the disadvantage of no fixed place to live
Sinhala figure of speech: අත්හැරෙන දීගේ හෙවනැල්ලත් ඇදයි ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even the shadow of the wife to be divorced is deformed
Meaning: If you want to do something, you will find some small reason or make up a reason to do it.
Sinhala figure of speech: අනංමනං දොඩවා, පනං අහගත්නා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation:  Like getting one's defects exposed by speaking nonsense
Meaning: Receiving blame from others for exposing one's weaknesses by talking too much or doing unnecessary things
Sinhala figure of speech: අනින ගොනා වැඩට හොඳයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: A bull which butts is good at it's job
Meaning: Generally speaking, troublesome people who challenge the leader are either good at their job or the trouble that comes from a good but troublesome person should be tolerated considering the benefits they will gain from them
Sinhala figure of speech: අනුනවයෙන් බේරුණා 
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Saved by ninety-nine
Meaning: To escape from some trouble with great difficulty
Sinhala figure of speech: අනුන්ගෙ පහනින් එළිය බලනවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Looking for light from another person's lamp
Meaning: Expecting everything from outsiders
Sinhala figure of speech: අනුන්ට කළ දේ තමන්ට පල දේ
Type: [ආප්තෝපදේශ]
Literal translation: What you do to others will bear fruit in you
Meaning: A bad deed done for others can also bring consequences upon oneself
Sinhala figure of speech: අන්තිම ඉත්තත් අදිනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Moving the last piece also
Meaning: Making a last ditch effort
Sinhala figure of speech: අන්තෝ ජටා බහි ජටා 
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][උපමා]
Literal translation: Tangle inside, tangle outside
English equivalent: Wheels within wheels
Meaning: Something that is very complex and perhaps overly complicated
Sinhala figure of speech: අන්දරේ සීනි කෑවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the way Andare ate sugar
Meaning: Strategically achieving your goals
Context: Andare was the most famous of the Court Jesters of the Sinhalese Kings and the last of his tribe. He enjoyed extraordinary, even unparalleled, licence in the Royal Household, and innumerable are the stories of his witticisms and drolleries, some of them vulgar and in decent. One of the stories has reference to the way in which he ate the King’s sugar. The sugar, spread on a mat, was laid out to dry in an inner courtyard of the Palace, and Andare, passing by, pretending ignorance, asked what the stuff was. “It is a kind of sand, Andare” said the King who happened to be close at hand, and the Jester, profusely thanking His Majesty for the information, went home. In his own house Andare arranged a little plot with his son to be worked out the next day, and proceeded to the Palace, the following morning, for his usual duties. At the appointed time, according to plan, Andare contrived to lead out the King to the courtyard near the place where the sugar had again been put out to dry and Andare’s little son appeared on the scene almost immediately, with dishevelled hair and eyes streaming with tears. “What’s the matter, son?” asked the jester. “Mother has just died,” replied the sobbing boy. “Appochchiye” screeched out the apparently stricken Andare, as he fell on his knees near the mat of sugar. “This means sand in our mouth, sand in our mouth, my son” he bewailed, and he fell to ramming into his mouth, in large handfuls, the sugar which the King had described as sand, an example which Andare’s son lustily followed. “Sand in our mouth” is a Sinhalese colloquialism for “We are done for.” When the King intervened, after recovering from his shocked surprise at the scene, there was very little sugar on the mat to save, and, making a virtue of necessity, said “Take home what is left of the sand, Andare. Some of it may possibly help to revive the dead woman. Place it in her mouth yourself, my man, and let me know the result tomorrow morning
Sinhala figure of speech: අන්ධයෙක් අහසේ මත්ස්‍ය පිය පිය සටහන් දැක්කා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like how a blind man saw the footprints of a fish in the sky
Meaning: A incident which cannot happen
Sinhala figure of speech: අඳින්ට නැති එකා බල්ලන්ට හැට්ට මහනවා වගේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: A person without clothes stitching clothes for the dog
Meaning: A futile act
Sinhala figure of speech: අපායට ගියත් ඉස්සර වෙලා යන්න ඕනැ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even if you are going to hell you should go early
English equivalent: The early bird catches the worm
Meaning: Those who are late will not benefit from an opportunity.
Sinhala figure of speech: අපි කන හැටි ලිපා දනී
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: My fire-place knows exactly how I eat
Meaning: The shortages are high.
Sinhala figure of speech: අප්පා කළ දේ නොකළොත් ඌ “නොට්ටිගේ පුතා”
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: The son who does not do what his father did is a bastard
Meaning: Like father, like son
Sinhala figure of speech: අබ කෑ මිනිහාගේ මොළේ දනවා ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: the brain of the man who ate mustard burns
Meaning: Realizing the mistake they made
Sinhala figure of speech: අබමල් රේණුවකවත්” වරදක් කර / සැකයක්, නැත
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: There is no fault / doubt even [the size of] a mustard flower pollen
Meaning: That he has not committed any petty theft or other significant offense
Sinhala figure of speech: අබරා / අබරං / ගමරාළ සිල් ගත්තා වගේ
Type: [උපදේශ][කතා][උපමා] 
Literal translation: As a certain person received Pansil
Meaning: Working without understanding
Context: A certain woman, on returning home after observing eight precepts (ata sil), asked the husband why he, too, did not observe sil. “I do not know how to do it,” replied the husband. “What you have to do,” said the wife, “when you go to the Temple, is to repeat, after the Priest, whatever he tells you.” The husband accordingly went to the Temple. The Priest, on Seeing the man, asked him. “Hello, man; Where are you going?” The man, too, repeated the same words. “Are you mad?” said the Priest, and “Are you mad?” re-joined the man. The Priest, who had been highly offended at the way the man had spoken to him, ordered his attendants to give the man a thrashing. This order, too, was repeated by the man in the very words of the Priest. The man, however, was given a sound thrashing by the Priest’s attendants. On returning home he said to his wife, “I am surprised, my dear, you look so healthy after observing sil so often, whereas I have caught a fever after observing it only once
Sinhala figure of speech: අබුද්ස්ස කාලෙට / කාලේ, ලබුත් තිත්ත ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even the “labu-gediya “becomes bitter in a Buddha less era
Meaning: Things that happen when injustice reigns
Sinhala figure of speech: අභිධර්ම මුදලාලිගෙ හෝටලේ වගේ
Type: [පුද්ගලික]
Literal translation: Like Abhidharma mudalali's hotel
Meaning: Used when justifying an action or omission by presenting hair-raising arguments under the guise of some reason.
Context: One day, a man was traveling to a distant city. When he needed a place to stay, one of his friends suggested, “Stay at Abhidharma Mudalali’s hotel.”Since the man was deeply interested in philosophy and doctrine, he was intrigued by the name and decided to stay there. That night, he asked Abhidharma Mudalali several questions about the Dhamma, but none of them received proper answers.The next morning, at the market, he asked another shopkeeper,“Why is that hotel owner called Abhidharma Mudalali?”The shopkeeper laughed and said, “Well, think about what you ate for dinner last night — ridge gourd curry, drumstick curry, ash plantain curry, all the cheap vegetables, right?”He then explained:“If anyone asks Mudalali why he always serves the same cheap food, instead of admitting he buys low-cost vegetables, he launches into a kind of Abhidhamma sermon. He says, ‘Unlike other hoteliers, I’m not concerned with business or profit. I only serve food that doesn’t inflame the body or burden the stomach. What I provide is wholesome and beneficial for your health.’That’s why everyone calls him Abhidharma Mudalali.”
Sinhala figure of speech: අම්මා පෙවූ රන් කිරි
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Golden milk fed by the mother
Meaning: Remembering parents in times of great trouble
Sinhala figure of speech: අඹ ගහට පොලු ගහන්නා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like hitting a stick to the mango tree
Meaning: When it produces results, even if you do something without a goal
Sinhala figure of speech: අඹ විචාළවුන්ට දෙල් කියන්නා සේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like saying breadfruit to those who asked about mangoes
Meaning: What is given is not what was requested, but something else.
Sinhala figure of speech: අඹු නැති මිනිහාගේ වී තිඹට හාල් නැලියයි, හාල් නැළියට බත් නෑඹිලියයි, බත් නෑඹිලිය කන කොට බත් කැටයයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: He who has no wife has one “timba “of paddy and the “timba” gives him one “neliya “of row rice and this “neliya” of rice gives him one “nembiliya” of cooked rice, which gives him one mouthful
English equivalent: The bachelor being robbed by everyone
Meaning: the domestic value of a wife to her husband
Sinhala figure of speech: අඹුවට බයේ ගෙදර ඉන්නත් බැහැ, කොටියා ට බයේ පැලේ ඉන්නත් බැහැ
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: Cannot stay at home for fear of the wife; cannot stay in the hut for fear of the leopard
English equivalent: Between the devil and the deep sea
Meaning: Being helpless with nothing to do due to running into two accidents or facing two unpleasant situations
Sinhala figure of speech: කොටියාට බයේ පැලට යන්නත් බැහැ ගෑණිට බයේ ගෙදර ඉන්නත් බැහැ
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: For fear of the tiger can't go to the watch hut but can't stay at home because of the fear of your woman
English equivalent: Between the devil and the deep sea
Meaning: Being helpless with nothing to do due to running into two accidents or facing two unpleasant situations
Sinhala figure of speech: හාමුදාට බයේ පැලට යනව ලු, ඌරට බයේ බිමට බහින්නේ නැති ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][නිශේධ]
Literal translation:  For fear of master the servant goes to the watch hut, but for fear of the boar, he dares not get out of it
English equivalent: Between the devil and the deep sea
Meaning: Being helpless with nothing to do due to running into two accidents or facing two unpleasant situations
Sinhala figure of speech: අරුණට කිට්ටු පැය ඉතා අදුරුයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: The hour closest to the sunrise is really dark
English equivalent: The darkest hour is just before the dawn
Meaning: The worst part of an experience or period usually happens just before things get better
Sinhala figure of speech: අරුම පුදුම රටේ, පනමට පොල් හැටේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: In the wondrous country, sixty coconuts for a Panam
Meaning: Something amazing happens.
Sinhala figure of speech: අල කොළ මියෙන කොළ වගේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Like yam leaves [and] dying leaves
English equivalent: A drug in the market
Meaning: Very common
Sinhala figure of speech: අලපත ලූ දියත්තක් වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like a drop of water placed on a yam leaf
Meaning: That it will be discarded very quickly or not retained
Sinhala figure of speech: අලින් කරන වැඩ වටුවන්ට කළ හැකි ද?
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Can a quill do what an elephant can do?
Meaning: Inferior people cannot do what those considered superior by virtue of education, age, etc. can do
Sinhala figure of speech: අලියගේ කටේ මැස්සෙක් ගියා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like a fly going into a elephant's mouth
English equivalent: Drop in the ocean
Meaning: In cases where a large person is given something or food that they don't even feel because it is too small,
Sinhala figure of speech: අල්ලපු කඩේ තම්බිත් (මුස්ලිම් ජාතිකයාත්) බේරුනේ නැහැ
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: Even the Thamby of the adjoining boutique will not escape
Meaning: That is, everybody will be dragged into trouble
Sinhala figure of speech: අවුරුදු කන්න ගිහින් බඩගින්නේ ආව වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Going to eat at awurudu and returning back hungry
Meaning: Having high hopes and then having those hopes dashed
Sinhala figure of speech: අව්ව තිබෙන විට පිදුරු වේළාගන්න
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][විධාන]
Literal translation: Dry hay when the sun shines
English equivalent: Make your hay while the sun shines
Meaning: Make use of your opportunities
Sinhala figure of speech: අව්වෙන් දාච්ච මිනිහා ගින්දරට පෙරළුවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like pushing the man that has been scorched by the sun into the fire 
English equivalent: Jump from the frying pan into the fire
Meaning: where someone moves from a bad situation to one that is even worse
Sinhala figure of speech: අශ්වයා පැන ගිය පසු ඉස්තාලයේ දොර වැහුවා වගේ
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Closing the stable door after the horse has escaped
English equivalent: Shut the stable door when the steed is stolen
Meaning: Becoming concerned about security after losing something valuable to protect
Sinhala figure of speech: පෙරහැර ගියාට පස්සේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: After going to the perahera
English equivalent: A day after the fair 
Meaning: It is easy to understand what you could have done to prevent something bad from happening after it has happened.
Sinhala figure of speech: අශ්වයාට අං අවා / දුන්නා, වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like giving horns to a horse
Meaning: Being too arrogant
Sinhala figure of speech: අශ්වයාට ඉදිරියෙන් රථය යෙදුවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Fixing a cart in front of the horse
Meaning: Starting something wrong
Sinhala figure of speech: ලියන්න කියන්න බැරි තම්බි අප්පුත් වෙදරාළ ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Although Tambi Appu cannot read and write, yet he is also a Vedarala
Meaning: Getting help from anyone in an emergency
Sinhala figure of speech: අසීරුවට හිඟුරු වැලෙත් එල්ලෙනවා ලු
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: In eases of necessity people cling on to the Hinguru Creeper
English equivalent: Catch at a straw
Meaning: To make a desperate attempt to salvage a bad situation
Context: The Hinguru is a climbing prickly / thorny plant
Sinhala figure of speech: අහස කඩන් වැටෙයි කියා දුවපු හාවා වගේ
Type: [උපදේශ][කතා][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like the hare which ran screaming the sky is falling down
Meaning: Getting upset by accepting the advice of others without really knowing something
Context: In a certain forest, a hare was quietly nibbling on some grass. Suddenly, a wood apple fell from a palm tree with a loud crash.Hearing the noise, the hare panicked. Without checking what had actually happened, he thought, “The earth is breaking apart and turning over!” Terrified, he began to run as fast as he could.A deer saw the hare sprinting and asked,“Why are you running so fast?”The hare replied,“The world is collapsing! I’m running to save my life!”Hearing this, the deer too was struck with fear and joined in the desperate run.Soon, a boar noticed them racing past and asked what was happening. The answer was the same:“The world is collapsing! Run to save your life!”Believing their words, the boar also fled. One by one, more animals—buffaloes, wild goats, jackals, and others—joined them, until a whole crowd of creatures were running in terror.At last, they came face to face with the lion, king of the forest. The lion roared,“Stop! Why are you all running?”The animals cried out together,“The world is collapsing! We are running to save our lives!”The lion asked, “How do you know this?”They replied,“We heard it from the hare.”So the lion summoned the hare and said,“Come with me. Show me the place where you heard this.”Trembling, the hare led the lion back to the spot. There, the lion carefully investigated and discovered the truth: it had only been a wood apple falling from a palm tree.And so the lion realized what had truly happened and calmed the frightened animals.
Sinhala figure of speech: අහස පොළොව ගැට ලන්නා වගේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Like the sky and earth colliding
Meaning: To express the effort required to complete a very difficult task.
Sinhala figure of speech: අහසෙන් කඩා වැටුණා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Fell from the sky
English equivalent: A bolt from the blue
Meaning: Something that happened suddenly and unexpectedly
Sinhala figure of speech: අහසේ මාළිගා තනනවා 
Type: [උපදේශ][කතා][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Building castles in the air 
Meaning: Dreaming of impossible things
Sinhala figure of speech: අළු ගොඩට පිම්බා වගේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like blowing onto a pile of ash
Meaning: Engages in foolish actions that cause unnecessary trouble.
Sinhala figure of speech: අළු යට තියෙන ගිනි පුපුරක් වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like fire under the ash
English equivalent: A snake in the grass
Meaning: A hidden danger
Sinhala figure of speech: අළුකොඩ යෝධයා වැව බැන්දා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like how the alukoda giant built the dam
Meaning: Going from being lazy to getting to work and accomplishing a great deal of work
Sinhala figure of speech: ආචාරිය රවටා කැත්ත හැදෙව්වා වගේ
Type: [උපදේශ][කතා][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like the Gamarala who got his axe made after tricking the blacksmith 
Meaning: Going to deceive someone else and becoming deceived
Context: A rala who went to a blacksmith to get a knife made gave the latter only the iron keeping back the steel, thinking by that means to deceive him
Sinhala figure of speech: ආච්චි මළ දවස වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the day the grandmother died
Meaning: Feeling great joy
Context: A great day for those who had long been looking forward to the distribution of her rich hoard of accumulated savings and other valuables a hoard invariably more precious than grandfather’s
Sinhala figure of speech: ආටා නාටිය කියවනවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like reading the Atanatiya [Sutta]
Meaning: Performing a great ceremony
Sinhala figure of speech: ආතාට අටු කොස් දුන්නා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like giving grandmother jak 
Meaning: Giving something that cannot be used, as a gift
Sinhala figure of speech: ආඳා යවා තබාලා වල්පත අතට ගත්තා සේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like taking the tail into the hand having let the eel go
English equivalent: Shut the stable door when the steed is stolen
Meaning: It’s easy to be wise after the event
Sinhala figure of speech: ආඳා වගේ ලිස්සලා යනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Slipping away like an eel
English equivalent: Neither here nor there
Meaning: Lack of a permanent policy
Sinhala figure of speech: ආප්ප කෑවා වගේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Like have eaten hoppers
Meaning: To say that even though you spend a lot of money little by little, it was of no use when it was over.
Sinhala figure of speech: ආරේ ගුණ නෑරේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: Generation's qualities won't be lost
English equivalent: What is bred in the bone comes out in the flesh
Meaning: To say that innate habits cannot be changed
Sinhala figure of speech: ආවා ගියෝ (මෙරුවෝ) වගේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Easy come, easy go
Meaning: get something easily and then lose it as easily
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇඟිලි පහම එක වගේ ද?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Are the five fingers of the same length?
Meaning: To indicate that everyone is different and has unique characteristics and talents, even within the same family or friends.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇඟිල්ලෙ තරමට ඉදිමෙන්න ඕනෑ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: The swelling of the finger must be proportioned to its size
English equivalent: Cut one's coat according to one's cloth
Meaning: The ambition of men should not exceed their abilities
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇඟෙන් ඇටයක් ගියා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation:  Like a bone going out of one’s body 
Meaning: To give something very reluctantly
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇටි කෙහෙල් ගිලපු උගුඩුවා වගේ 
Type: [උපදේශ][කතා][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like the wild cat which ate “eta-kehel 
Meaning: Once you are attached to a mistake, it is very difficult to come out of it
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇතා වෑරුනත් කොරහේ නාවන්න බැරි ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Though the elephant gets lean, it cannot be bathed in a pan
Meaning: A superior person maintains his superiority even when he is degraded or weak.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇතාට පයින් අනිනවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like poking an elephant with the foot
Meaning: A weak person trying to oppose a strong person
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇත්තෙත් දෙන්නයි, මැද නින්දත් ඕනෑ ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: There are but two in the bed, each of them wants to sleep in the middle
Meaning: striving to make it all perfect, despite having shortcomings
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇද ගසේ සෙවණැල්ලත් ඇදලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The shadow of the crooked tree is also crooked
Meaning: The consequences of wrongdoing are also harmful.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇනියෙන් ගියත් අවරෙන් ගියත් දෙකම එක ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It is all the same whether the prow goes foremost or the stern
Meaning: It is fine whatever happens
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇඳිරි ගෙට කැවුම් දික්කළා වගේ
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like offering oil cakes to a dark room
Meaning: Fake gift giving
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇමක් දී මාළුවෙක් අල්ලන්නා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like catching a big fish with a small bait
Meaning: Giving a little and getting a lot
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇලි ඇතා දන් දුන්නා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like giving the white tusker as alms
Meaning: Giving away even the rarest possessions one possesses
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇල් වතුරෙන් මිනී මරනවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Murdering with cold water.
Meaning: Attempting to injure a man by deceit and plausible words
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇල්වතුරෙන් බෙල්ල කපනවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like cutting the neck with cold water
Meaning: To cause trouble as a friend
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇවිලෙන ගින්නට පිදුරු දමන්නා/දානවා/දැම්මා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like consigning straw to a raging fire
English equivalent: Adding fuel to the flames 
Meaning: Acting to escalate a conflict
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇස් ඇරපු නැති බළල් පැටියෙක්වත් බෙන්තර ගඟින් මෙපිටට ගේන්න එපා
Type: [ආප්තෝපදේශ]
Literal translation: Do not bring even a kitten that hasn't opened [its] eyes to this side of the Bentara River
Meaning: The people of the South are complete hypocrites.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇහැට ඇහැක්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Eye for eye
English equivalent: tit for tat 
Meaning:  tit for tat
Sinhala figure of speech: ඈත තියෙන මොනර මහට වඩා ළඟ තියෙන කපුටු මහ හොඳ ලු 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: Crow flesh at hand is better than peacock flesh afar off
English equivalent: A bird in the hand worth two in the bush
Meaning: Things we already have are more valuable than what we hope to get
Sinhala figure of speech: ඈයන් තබා මා අදු කිව්ව ලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Meaning: A person who set out to do something expecting something good encountering something bad without expecting it.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉක්මන් කොටයි ලු 
Type: [ආප්තෝපදේශ]
Literal translation: haste is short
English equivalent: Haste (is) slow.
Meaning: Too much haste is not good.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉඩන්ගොඩයින්ගේ/ ඉනන්ගොඩයින්ගේ මඟුල වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the marriage proposal of the Inaggoda people 
Meaning: It's a time when everyone is trying to be the best and take the lead.
Context: Inaggoda is a village near Colombo. There was a young man on whose behalf certain people of this village once went to another village in connection with a marriage proposal. They were cordially received by the girl’s father who, when breakfast time drew nigh, enquired of them who was their leader and spokesman, since it was customary to offer to such a person first the glass of water for washing the mouth preparatory to sitting down to the meal. Every member of the visiting party claimed to be the leader, whereupon the annoyed father drove the whole lot of them away, remarking, “I’ll be damned before I give my daughter to any Inaggoda man”
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉණිමගට පයින් ගහන්නා වගේ
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like kicking a ladder
Meaning: Forgetting help after receiving it
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉතිරි සපත්තුවත් විසි කරනව කෝ නිදාගන්න
Type: [පුද්ගලික]
Literal translation: Wait till the other shoe drops
Meaning: Await a seemingly inevitable event
Context: This expression alludes to a person awakened by a neighbour who loudly dropped one shoe on the floor and is waiting for the second shoe to be dropped. Story says a guest who checked into an inn one night was warned to be quiet because the guest in the room next to his was a light sleeper. As he undressed for bed, he dropped one shoe, which, sure enough, awakened the other guest. He managed to get the other shoe off in silence and got into bed. An hour later, he heard a pounding on the wall and a shout: "When are you going to drop the other shoe?" Thus, the term "waiting for the other shoe to drop."
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉඳි කටුවක් රත්තරනෙන් හදලා මොටද?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: What advantage is there even if a needle be changed into gold
Meaning: Buying something at a high cost without any benefit
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉඳිකටු තුඩේ / මූනේ, තපස් රකින්නා / රැක්කා, වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like leading an ascetic life on the point of a needle 
Meaning: Living a good life even under very difficult circumstances
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉබි කබළුත් බෙහෙතට ඕනෑ වෙනවා ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even tortoise-shell is used for medicine
Meaning: Even things of little value are necessary at times.
Sinhala figure of speech: කුකුළු බෙටිත් බේතට ඕනෑ වෙනවා ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: even chicken droppings become necessary for medicine
Meaning: Even things of little value are necessary at times.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉබ්බයි, හාවයි රේස් දිව්වා වගේ
Type: [උපදේශ][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like when the tortoise and the rabbit raced
Meaning: Slow and steady wins the race
Context: A Hare was making fun of the Tortoise one day for being so slow. "Do you ever get anywhere?" he asked with a mocking laugh. "Yes," replied the Tortoise, "and I get there sooner than you think. I'll run you a race and prove it." The Hare was much amused at the idea of running a race with the Tortoise, but for the fun of the thing he agreed. So, the Fox, who had consented to act as judge, marked the distance and started the runners off. The Hare was soon far out of sight, and to make the Tortoise feel very deeply how ridiculous it was for him to try a race with a Hare, he lay down beside the course to take a nap until the Tortoise should catch up. The Tortoise meanwhile kept going slowly but steadily, and, after a time, passed the place where the Hare was sleeping. But the Hare slept on very peacefully; and when at last he did wake up; the Tortoise was near the goal. The Hare now ran his swiftest, but he could not overtake the Tortoise in time
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉබ්බී අහසින් ගියා වගේ / අහසින් ගිය ඉබ්බී වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like the tortoise that went in the sky
Meaning: Too much politeness leads to disaster
Context: A young tortoise was once carried carefully through the sky by two storks, who held a stick in their beaks while the tortoise clung to it. When they passed over a place where some boys were playing, the tortoise’s younger brother looked up and asked, “How do I look? Don’t I look good?” Later, when they passed over another place, the tortoise’s sister too called out with a request. As they flew further, passing the places where the elder brother and younger brother had once fallen, the storks said to each other, “This tortoise is indeed very clever.”
But just then, the tortoise lost her grip and slipped. Still, she did not let go of the stick. The two storks quickly beat their wings, managed to steady themselves, and caught hold of the stick again. The polite and well-mannered tortoise said, “Thank you very much.” But the moment she opened his mouth to speak, she fell from the stick once more.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉරටු දුන්නෙනුත් (විද්දත්) ඇස් කණ වෙනවා ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: The eye gets blinded if you shoot even with a bow of ekel 
Meaning: Even a small bad thing can lead to a big disaster.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉවසිල්ලෙන් සැනසිල්ල ලැබේ ලු
Type: [ආප්තෝපදේශ]
Literal translation: Patience begets comfort
Meaning: Good things come to those who wait. Patience is often rewarded
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉස්පිලි පාපිලි ගැන සැලකිලිමත් වෙන්න
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Be careful about the upper and lower vowel strokes
English equivalent: Mind your Ps and Qs
Meaning:  watch what you're doing
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉහිරුණු කිරට අඩන්න එපා
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][විධාන]
Literal translation: Do not cry for the spilt milk
English equivalent: Don't cry over spoilt milk
Meaning: Regret over things that have already happened
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉහේ මලක් පිපුනා වගේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Like a flower blossomed on the head
Meaning: To be very happy
Sinhala figure of speech: ඊශ්වර දෙවියන්ගේ කරේ ඉන්න නාගයා යාළුවේ කියා ගුරුළාට කතා කොට රටේ තොරතුරු ඇසුවා ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: the cobra on God Ishwara's neck, calling the Garuda "Friend", asked for news of the country
Meaning: The weak who associate with the powerful are not afraid of a powerful enemy.
Sinhala figure of speech: සමන් දෙවියන්ගේ කරේ ඉන්න නාගයා යාළුවේ කියා ගුරුළාට කතා කොට රටේ තොරතුරු ඇසුවා ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: the cobra on God Saman's neck, calling the Garuda "Friend", asked for news of the country
Meaning: The weak who associate with the powerful are not afraid of a powerful enemy.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඊශ්වරයා, භෂ්ම අසුරයාට / බක්මාසුරයට, අග්නි සැරේ දුන්නා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like Ishwar giving the fire charm to Bakmasura
Meaning: A person who has acquired a skill uses it to the detriment of the person who gave it to him.
Context: Isvaraya (another name for God Siva) had a beautiful spouse named Umayanganavi. She was passionately loved and desired by Bakmasuraya, who had served like a slave under Isvaraya for a period of some seven years. In order to achieve his ignoble purpose, which was possible only by killing Isvaraya, he went to the latter one day, and, as a sort of reward for his years of faithful service, asked Isvaraya for the gift of the knowledge of the “fire-charm.” Isvaraya was reputed to be able, after uttering a certain charm over the palm of his hand, to scorch to death immediately anyone whose body was touched by that palm, and it was this charm which Bakmasuraya wanted to learn in order to use it against Isvaraya himself. The obliging Isvaraya imparted the required knowledge to Bakmasuraya, who, without delay, uttering the charm over his own hand, approached Isvaraya in order thus to kill him and then possess the beautiful Umayanganavi. The knowing Isvaraya, however, suddenly becoming conscious of the approaching danger, fled with Bakmasuraya in pursuit, and, disappearing from the pursuer’s sight for a few seconds, appeared in the guise of a heavenly maid of indescribable beauty, seated on a swing and moving gracefully up and down. Bakmasuraya straightway fell head over ears in love with the seductive maid, whom he there and then asked to marry him, all thought of Isvaraya having fled from his mind. “Men are deceitful creatures,” said the maid. “Swear on your head that you will never discard me, and I will marry you.” Bakmasuraya swore with his hand on his head, and instantaneously the “fire-charm” worked and he was reduced to ashes
Sinhala figure of speech: උකුණන් ලවා වග්ගල් ලිග්ගල් පෙරළන්න තැත් කරනවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like attempting to roll boulders and hearth-stones using lice
Meaning: It's like trying to get big things done by small or weak people.
Sinhala figure of speech: උගත මනා ශිල්පයමයි මතු රැකෙනා 
Type: [ආප්තෝපදේශ]
Literal translation: Education is an indestructible form of wealth
Meaning: The wealth of wisdom is superior to all wealth.
Sinhala figure of speech: උඩින් ඔපේ යටින් හපේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Polish on the top, refuse underneath
English equivalent: A goodly apple rotten at the heart
Meaning: The richness that appears on the surface is not really there.
Sinhala figure of speech: උණ පඳුරක මල් පිපෙනවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like flowers blooming in a bamboo bush
Sinhala figure of speech: උණහපුලුවගේ දරුවා ඌට මැණික ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: The young of the loris is a gem to her
Meaning: That no matter how worthless one's own thing is, it is valuable to one.
Sinhala figure of speech: උණහපුලුවගේ ඇසින් කඳුළු ගන්න බැරුවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Tears will not come from the eye of a loris
Meaning: To talk about a rare event
Sinhala figure of speech: උණු කැවුම් වගේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Like hot kavum
Meaning: Sold out very quickly.
Sinhala figure of speech: උණු නිසා බොන්ටත් බැහැ කැඳ නිසා අහක දමන්නත් බැහැ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: As it is hot it cannot be drunk, but being gruel it cannot be thrown away
Meaning: Being caught in a dilemma
Sinhala figure of speech: උදේ සිට දිය ඇද සවස කළේ බිඳගත්තා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like drawing water since morning and breaking the pot in the evening
Meaning: Doing a lot of good work but making a mistake at the last minute and causing a mistake or loss
Sinhala figure of speech: උඳු වපුරා මුං බලාපොරොත්තු වෙන්නා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][උපමා] 
Literal translation: A man reaps what he sows
Meaning: Expecting the impossible
Sinhala figure of speech: උපන් ගමන් දණ ගාන්න පුළුවන් යැ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Can you kneel once you are born?
English equivalent:  Rome wasn't built in a day
Meaning: You can't achieve big results in a short time.
Sinhala figure of speech: උපන් ගෙයි ගතිය බලි ඇරියත් සුව කරන්න බැහැ ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Nature, deformity cannot be cured even by propitiating the planets
English equivalent: What is bred in the bone comes out in the flesh
Meaning: lifelong habits or inherited characteristics cannot be concealed
Sinhala figure of speech: උපන් නැකතට වඳිනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර] 
Literal translation: Thank (one's) lucky stars 
Meaning: To express appreciation for a beneficial occurrence
Sinhala figure of speech: උපාසක බළල්ලු මීයන් / දෙදෙනා බැගින් අල්ලනව ලු
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even “Upasaka “cats catch mice
English equivalent: A wolf in sheep's clothing
Meaning: A bad person who pretends to be good on the outside
Sinhala figure of speech: මේ මොන උරචක්කර මාලයක් ද?
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: What kind of Urachakkara garland is this?
Meaning: Accepting something that is very stressful to the body or mind
Sinhala figure of speech: උලේ හිටියත් එකයි - පිලේ හිටියත් එකයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It is the same whether staying on the stake or staying on the porch
Meaning: No matter where you are, there is nothing special.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඌරගෙ මාළු ඌරගේ පිටේ තියල කැපුවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like chopping the flesh of a pig on its own back
Meaning: Getting both benefits from one person
Sinhala figure of speech: ඌරා කවද ද කහ කෑවේ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: When did pigs eat saffron?
English equivalent: Don’t cast pearls before swine
Meaning: Not knowing the value of something valuable
Sinhala figure of speech: ඌරා ළිඳේ අංගන් කෙටිල්ල වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like fighting Angampora in a spiral well
Meaning: When doing something in a confined space
Sinhala figure of speech: එක ඇහෙන් කියත ඇහැකි
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Can tell with [just] one eye
English equivalent: See with half an eye
Meaning: Understandable at a glance
Sinhala figure of speech: එක ගලෙන් කුරුල්ලෝ දෙන්නෙක් මරනවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like killing two birds with one stone
English equivalent: Kill two birds with one stone
Meaning: Accomplishing two goals with one effort
Sinhala figure of speech: එක මල්ලේ ලුණු කාපු අය
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: People who ate salt from the same bag
English equivalent: Like men who had eaten salt out of one bag
Meaning: men between whom there is a strong binding attachment
Sinhala figure of speech: එකම වළේ වැටිච්ච අය
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර] 
Literal translation: People who fell into the very same pit
English equivalent: Be in the same boat
Meaning: People who are in the same trouble
Sinhala figure of speech: එතකොට තමයි තොවිලේ කිව්ව ලු
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: he said, "The Thovil (exorcism ceremony) is then."
English equivalent: Then only the music begins
Meaning: The real situation is revealed and panic ensues.
Sinhala figure of speech: එන එන විදියට ගහ උලුවස්සා
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][විධාන]
Literal translation: Make the doorframe according to how [it] comes
Meaning:  be contingent
Sinhala figure of speech: එනකොට එන්නේ තංගුස් පට දිගේ, යනකොට යන්නේ ගල් කඹත් කඩා ගෙන
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: When good fortune comes, it comes along a wire; when it goes, it breaks even ropes of hemp
Meaning: in prosperity slight efforts succeed, in adversity even the highest fail
Sinhala figure of speech: එන්න අයියා කන්න බොන්න තාලේ කෙනෙක්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: hail-fellow-well-met
Meaning: showing excessive familiarity or friendliness
Sinhala figure of speech: තිබුණ කටත් නැතිවුණ වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like losing even the mouth you had. 
Context: According to Sinhalese Folklore, there was an extremely poor man, the cup of whose unhappiness was daily filled to the brim by a nagging wife at home. The taunts of this woman drove him one day in desperation to the forest where he began crying aloud, bewailing his fate. The God, Sakra Deviyo, taking pity on him, came thither in the guise of an old man and handed him three unhusked coconuts, saying that if he expressed any wish at the moment of breaking each one, the wish would be fulfilled. The poor man rushed home and, taking the kitchen knife, was about to break one coconut with a wish in his heart for riches, when the wife screeched out, inquiring what he was going to do. “A mouth, you fool,” replied the exasperated husband as he brought down the knife on the coconut, and immediately he found himself covered with mouths from head to foot. Half-demented, as it were, by this sudden and alarming development, the poor man broke the second coconut with the prayer that all these mouths be removed. And immediately the prayer was gratified fully, so fully that he found that even the mouth he had had originally was removed, The man, now at his wits’ end, thereupon broke the third and last coconut, with the prayer that his original possession is restored to him, and this was fulfilled. He got back his status quo ante
Sinhala figure of speech: මහනෙල් මල් ඉතා සුවඳ නමුත් එහි දණ්ඩ කොර සැඩියි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Though the lotus flower, is very sweet, yet its stalk is very coarse.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගිය ලූලා මහ එකාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The “ lula ” that got away is the big “ lula.” 
Meaning: A man is apt to magnify the value of anything that he has not obtained
Context: This is a freshwater fish, socalled Ophiocephalus striatus
Sinhala figure of speech: පිස්සිගේ පළා මල්ල වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the mad woman’s bag of herbs.
Meaning: A writing abounding in incongruous, or heterogeneous matter
Sinhala figure of speech: මග්ගොන මිනිස්සු ළිත් තැඩලුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the people of Maggona who tried to carry a well on a stick. 
Context: Like the people of Maggona who tried to carry a well on a stick (21) Some men of Maggona, finding a pot of sweet toddy near a certain well, thought that the liquid must be the water of the well. They, therefore, proceeded to dig out the well for the purpose of carrying it away. In order to lift it they used a slender tampala (Nothosaerua brachiata, Tamil: Ghirupilai) plant as a lever. The story concludes that, seeing their shadows in the well, which they took to be the owners of the well, they became frightened and ran away. Thenceforward, to be a “man of Maggona” (like he of Tumpane) was to be known as a simpleton
Sinhala figure of speech: මහදැනමුත්තාගේ නුවණ වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the wisdom of Mahadenamutta. 
Meaning:  Like the advice of the great wise man
Context: A bullock while endeavoring to drink water out of a pot introduced his head into it, and the bystanders not knowing how to extricate the pot without breaking it, sent for the wise man of the village to take his advice on the matter. He came, and after much deliberation declared that the only course, he could suggest was to cut off the neck of the bull, and then break the pot and remove it
Sinhala figure of speech: ලොවින් එකෙක් එක දේකට වෙයි සමත 
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Each man the world excels in one thing or another.
Sinhala figure of speech: උත්තමයන්ගේ ගුණ උත්තමයෝ දනිත් 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Great men can fully understand the good qualities of (other) great men.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉරට්ට මෝඩයයි නම්ලත් එකා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the fellow who was named the “ Arrant Fool.” 
Context: A certain fool when his boat was in danger of sinking took the pingo he had in the boat on his shoulders with the object of lightening the boat
Sinhala figure of speech: ගැටිය කරේ හිටිය කතාව වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the man with the brim round his neck,
Context: A certain man being unable to suffer the ill treatment he was subjected to by his wife, went to a distant country in search of a friend of his, with the object of acquainting him of his troubles. When the two friends were talking together, the wife of the latter came in a rage and struck his head with a chatty and the brim of which fell around the husband's neck. The unfortunate man turning to his friend asked him if he had witnessed similar things in his country. “Assaults are common enough in our country too”, he replied, "but it is only today that I saw the brim fell around the neck”
Sinhala figure of speech: ගහින් ගහට ගිය මිනිහා තෙමි නහිනවාලු 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: The man who goes from tree to tree wets himself unto death.
Meaning: Without a firm determination, they do whatever they feel like doing, whenever they feel like it, try one thing, then try another.
Sinhala figure of speech: හරියන මගුලට අටුවේ තිබෙන කෙමනෙත් ගංගාරා වැදෙනවලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: For the marriage that is coming off, shrimps get entangled even in the “ keroana ” that is in the loft. 
Meaning: Nothing succeeds like success
Sinhala figure of speech: හිරයක් දෙනකොට සොයා දෙන්ටත්, ගේනකොට නොසොයා ගේන්ටත් 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][විධාන]
Literal translation: Inquire when giving in marriage, but you need not when bringing in marriage.
Meaning: inquire well into the caste before giving a female child in marriage, but you need not be so particular about caste when taking a girl in marriage
Sinhala figure of speech: මගුල් කපුවාට හෙණ හතක්ලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Seven thunderbolts are ordained for the match-maker.
Meaning: Both parties invoke curses upon his head when things go wrong, as they usually do, after the marriage
Sinhala figure of speech: මගුලේ රස දැනෙන්නේ ළමයින් හඬන විටලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Something of the savour of marriage you will know when the children cry.